Hotline Says Get There Early For 'skins Seats

Warner Hessler

September 13, 1997|By WARNER HESSLER Daily Press

I'm trying to get out of here. I want to get off to an early start and beat most of the 80,000 fans who will wind their way through the curving roads of Landover and Raljon, Md., for the Redskins opener in Jack Kent Cooke Stadium Sunday. But I'll take a few minutes and open The Hotline.

* Q : What's wrong with the Redskins?

* A : They are a team without a home. They will be playing in a new house, but the place won't be a home until the players learn where to park and how to get to their dressing rooms. They had their first practice there Saturday, so it's going to take time to turn this house into a home.

* Q : Do you think they can get off to a good start in The Big Jack by beating the Arizona Cardinals?

* A : Who cares? Sunday's game is going to be kind of like the Battle of Gettysburg. Most people remember the speech, but few remember who won the battle. Ten years from now, most people will remember the day the stadium opened but few will remember who won the game.

* Q : I've read where some people are calling the stadium The Big Ripoff, that the Redskins are gouging fans by charging the highest ticket price in the NFL. Do you think Washington fans are being ripped off?

* A : If you look only at the average ticket price, perhaps. But if you take the time to investigate NFL ticket policies, Washington fans are not paying top dollar in the league's newest and most fan-friendly football palace.

* Q : Talk is cheap. Can you be a little more specific?

* A : The average ticket for the Redskins is $52.92, the bottom ticket is $40, the top general admission seat costs $60, and full-service club seats run from $124 to $312 per game. That's about what you would expect to pay is such places as Oakland, Dallas, San Francisco and San Diego. What drives the average price up is the NFL's largest outdoor facility has more higher priced seats between the goal lines and more club seats than other stadiums.

* Q : That explains the high average price, but it doesn't completely exonerate the Redskins of the gouging charge. Are they gouging, or are they not?

* A : Based on the fact the Cooke family put up $180 million to build it, they are not gouging. Oakland is second on the list at $51.41 per ticket, but owner Al Davis did not build his stadium. He's in a publicly financed stadium, received millions from the taxpayers to relocate in Oakland, and he's charging $51.41. San Francisco is third in a publicly built stadium, and so on down the line. Washington, Miami ($41.30) and Carolina ($39.14) are the only teams playing in privately built stadiums.

* Q : What about that nasty little thing called the Public Seating License (PSL). Are you forgetting about that?

* A : No, I was just hoping somebody would ask the question. Carolina started the trend of charging PSLs, a fee fans pay for the right to purchase a season ticket at full price, and the idea was picked up in Oakland, Tennessee, Baltimore and St. Louis. You pay from $250 to $1,500 for a PSL. Assuming you paid $500 for a PSL, that's an extra $62.50 per game ticket. That would raise the average ticket price to $113.91 in Oakland, $102.86 in Tennessee, $101.64 in Carolina, and $96.07 in St. Louis. In other words, the PSL average is higher than the Redskins' average game ticket. Owners who play in taxpayer-built stadiums and still sell PSLs are the ones doing the gouging.

* Q : How does that take the Redskins off the hook?

* A : The late owner refused to sock Redskins fans with a surcharge. He called PSLs ``bloody blackmail.''

* Q : I plan to go to the game and I would like to get there early as it will probably be a zoo. What time should I leave?